First Time To End
by KittiKat626
Summary: [IchiRuki] He waits for her. As the beautiful lights of the Chirstmas tree flash across his face, he waits. And he hopes.


◦●◦●◦This **IS NOT** my story! It is by my friend, **CrystalRaindrop007**◦●◦●◦

She has an account on this site, but she is not known by anyone because she doesn't write much, so I offered to put it up in my account so she would get some feedback, which she **desperately** wants. And for a heads up, our writing styles are really alike. :D

**Please read!**

**Author Notes from Crystal: **Hi! I wrote this for an IchiRuki Christmas contest on BleachForums. My friend offered to let me put it in her account, so I took her up on the offer since I am not known at all here and would really, really like some feedback on this. :D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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First Time To End

Ichigo sighed as he stared at the Christmas tree in the living room. Earlier that day, it had been fully decorated by him and his family. Lights were glowing everywhere; little angels hung from several branches and all the little knick-knacks that he, Yuzu and Karin had made when they were little adorned the tree. Everything was dark in the room besides the beautiful glow the lights were casting across his face and the slight moonlight that was coming through the windows.

And she hadn't come.

Shaking his head, Ichigo mentally slapped himself. Why should she have? It wasn't like she said she would or anything. He had just wished she would; hoped. But she hadn't. He had decided to wait downstairs after the rest of his family went to bed, anyway, in the hopes that she had come.

Since when he become so pathetic? If she had come, they would have spent their time yelling at each other, anyway.

Turning around, he began walking back upstairs. His hands were stuffed deeply in his pockets and his gaze was cast downward.

"How come there isn't a star?"

Ichigo's amber eyes flew open wide as he turned around quickly. Instead of smirking, like she did usually, she was smiling softly as she stared at the top of the tree.

_She had come._

"My mom used to put it up," Ichigo said, turning around, his hands still in his pockets as he tried to calm the beating of his heart. "We haven't put it up since then; it felt wrong, I guess. She used to love putting it up. My dad would hold her up so she could reach the top of the tree because she was too short."

"Why don't _you _put it up? Do you think she would never want to see the star up again?" she asked gently, her hands hugging her stomach as she rocked back and forth on the floor. Her sock clad feet were moving slowly across the warm, blue carpet and her soft, violet eyes were staring intently at the tree.

"I don't know," Ichigo said, walking from the stairs and closer to her. "Rukia ... why did you come?"

"You didn't want me to?" she asked, finally turning around to face him. When their eyes met, Ichigo could feel the emotion flowing from her small, still body.

"No, I just ... I mean ... " Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and sighed, his eyes straying from hers and to the ceiling. Rukia said,

"Weren't you waiting?"

"Damn. Ya know me too well."

She smiled softly, or as close to a smile as you could get. Ichigo felt himself relaxing a little as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and let one of them reach out to gently finger a small, hand-made angel on the tree. He said,

"I made this when I was four. I made it for my mom. She loved it and put it on the very top of the tree. That was the only year we didn't use the star. After mom died ... I put the star up in the middle of the night, and when I woke in the morning, it was gone. I never found out who took it down, but I'm pretty sure it was dad. The twins were too little. I haven't tried since."

"Why not?"

Ichigo turned around, letting his eyes wander over the midget that was standing before him. He reached out and took her hand in his, opening her small fist and reaching into his pocket to pull out a small, bright yellow star. He placed it in her hand.

"You try," he said softly, his voice just above a whisper. Rukia looked surprised, but let her fingers slowly run over the star before holding it tightly in her hand.

"Why me?"

They were speaking quietly, almost too quietly for each other to hear. Rukia voice was soft and gentle while Ichigo's still held a slight roughness to it.

"Because ... because I want you to. Will ya?" he asked, wrapping his arms around his chest and looking down at the floor. Rukia nodded.

"Problem. I'm too short."

Ichigo smirked as he wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist and hoisted her onto his shoulders. She couldn't stop the shriek that came out as she gripped tightly to his hair to keep her balance.

"Shut up, dope! You'll wake my family. And let go of my hair," he said, the softness in his voice gone, but the half-smile still on his face. Rukia rolled her eyes and, once happy that she wouldn't fall, let go of Ichigo's hair and looked at the star in her hands.

It was pretty, really. The star had five points and in the middle of the bright, soft yellow, was a small red stone. She let her fingers run over it and smiled; it, too, was softer than the metal seemed like it should be. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Ichigo poked her in the foot.

"C'mon, Rukia. I know you're a midget and all, but I still don't want you sitting on me all night," Ichigo whined, only to be shut up when Rukia clobbered him on the head.

"Shut up, fool. I'll hurry if I want to."

Ichigo grumbled a few choice words under his breath as he looked up. Rukia reached out and placed the star on the very top of the tree, letting it rest on the small, but sturdy, branch that had been cut especially for a star that never hung in its place. When she was finished, she let her fingers lightly grasp Ichigo's hair as she looked at it. Right below the star sat a line of red lights, so the star was illuminated bright red, reflecting off of the stone in the middle to give it a glowing look.

"It's complete," Ichigo said, carefully lifting Rukia off of his shoulders.

"Thank you."

Ichigo looked over in surprise to see Rukia still staring up at the tree. The flashing red, blue and green lights danced softly against her features and he couldn't help it as his heart sped up a beat.

"For what?" he asked, taking a deep breath as he turned his gaze from her.

"For letting m put the star up. For everything."

"Whatever ... dope," Ichigo added as an afterthought, smirking as she reached over and kicked him in the shin. Rukia looked down, then, biting her lip, reached into her pocket and pulled something out. She handed it to Ichigo, saying,

"Here. I won't be able to give it to you tomorrow on Christmas, so I want to give it to you now," she said, looking up as Ichigo took the carefully wrapped present from her.

"What is it?" he asked, turning it over in his hands. Rukia half-glared at him.

"Well, you'll have to open it, stupid," she said, rolling her eyes. Ichigo shrugged, and with no comment fired back, began opening the present. When all the wrapping paper had fallen away, he smiled when he saw the small, framed picture inside.

"To remember us all by," Rukia said. Ichigo nodded and continued to stare at the picture. In it, he was standing in front with his arm around Rukia's neck; it looked like he was trying to strangle her, and the look of surprise on her face only made it seem more so. Behind them in the picture, Renji was holding Zabimaru and Byakuya was looking bored. A few others, Hitsugaya, Hinamori and Yoruichi, were standing even further back.

"Thanks," Ichigo murmured, letting his eyes wander over the picture. "I ... ah, I don't have anything for you because I didn't think you would come."

Rukia looked like she didn't care.

"It's OK. The hope you had in me was enough. And Ichigo?"

"Hm?"

Rukia bit her lip. "I can't stay; I have to leave tonight."

Ichigo nodded, as if he had expected this. He said, softly, but with a smirk, "Well, make sure you visit more often then, stupid."

Rukia smirked, too, and gave him another swift kick in the leg. Ichigo hopped around the room for a second before stopping in front of her again.

"No, really, Rukia. Thanks, it means a lot to me," he said, putting the picture on top of the table in the living room. There was an awkward silence in the room until Rukia said,

"Um ... Renji told me to tell you that you'd better be stronger the next time you two met, because he wants to kick your ass."

Ichigo laughed.

"As if," he said, his usual scowl in place as he smiled. His amber eyes showed amusement as he asked, "Was he the one who helped you come?"

"Yes. Him and Nii-sama."

Ichigo coughed.

"Your brother? Geez."

Rukia nodded, raising her eyebrows at him. She said,

"Hey, can we watch that movie you were talking about a few months back? I think you called it ... a Christmas special?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. In fact, it's midnight; it should be on right now."

He led her over to the couch and turned the TV on, making sure the volume was low, so as not to wake his family. The movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, had just started. Rukia was instantly captured by the little cartoon figures walking around on screen, and Ichigo watched her reactions to the movie more than he watched the actual movie. She fell asleep half-way through and used him as a pillow. He nearly poked her and told her to move, but the peaceful, soft look on her face as she slept stopped him before his hand reached her.

Sighing, he instead turned off the TV, which was casting eerie colors across the room. The volume was disrupting the silence in the room; it seemed strangely out of place in the silent night.

She would be gone in the morning. He knew that much. She would be gone before he or any of his family even woke up.

But she would come back.

She always did.

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Again, this was by **CrystalRaindrop007**! Not by me! I only have it in my account so she can get the feedback she wants. :D

**A/N **by** Crystal:** I don't know if they have How The Grinch Stole Christmas in Japan ... but let's say they do, shall we?

**Please Review!**


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